engleski

Anti-inflammatory properties of bone morphogenetic protein-7 might be beneficial in the treatment of intestinal bowel disease

Although a wide range of biological activities has been ascribed to members of bone morphogenetic protein family (BMPs) there is no clear evidence of their potential role in the regulation of immune response in vivo. In the present study we demonstrated the anti-inflammatory properties of bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP7/OP1) assesed in vivo on animal model of inflammatory bowel disease - 2, 4, 6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) induced colitis. TNBS-administrated rats that had been treated i.v. with BMP7 developed much less severe form of colitis according to macroscopic and histologic criteria. Immunohistochemical analysis with antibodies recognizing principal components of bowel wall confirmed preserved microarchitecture of colon tissue from BMP7 treated animals. RT-PCR analysis of the same tissue revealed the absence of transcript for IL-6, one of the major mediators of disease, which was abundantly expressed in colon tissue from diseased but BMP7 untreated animals. The expression levels of transcripts for TNF-alpha and TGF-beta was significantly decreased in colon tissue from BMP7. The expression pattern of transcripts for Alk-2, 3 and 6, specific receptors for different members of BMP family suggested that the observed effect of BMP7 is likely mediated by Alk-2, its specific receptor.

bone morphogenetic protein-7; TNBS colitis; inflammatory bowel disease

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